European Pine Martens, Martes martes, also called baum marten, sweet marten and pineten, belong to the mustelid family along with the otter, badger, mink, wolverine and weasel. Pine Martens are native to Northern Europe. Within the UK they have generally been confined to Scotland with a small population in Wales. Sadly in England they are so rare that they had been considered extinct. More recently populations have been discovered in Cumbria, Shropshire and Yorkshire.

The increasing pine marten population in the UK has been credited for the reduction of grey squirrels, which in turn is helping the native red squirrel recover.